Blessed Rani Maria stands out for many other reasons as well. She is on the road to sainthood today, which makes her life all the more endearing, memorable, and inspiring. She was born on January 29, 1954, nine months after I was born. She was given the baptismal name Mariam, after Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus.
She chose to be a nun of her own volition. Her family would have been happier if she had studied, managed to get a job, got married, and had children and grandchildren. She wanted to be a nun and follow in the footsteps of Saint Teresa of Kolkata, who wanted every nun to ‘be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.’
Blessed Maria wanted to work in His vineyard, and that is how she reached Uttar Pradesh, where she earned a name as a passionate missionary who would run when she was asked to walk. Her real life started when she reached the diocese of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, and she got involved in the people’s lives. She knew that there is no greater service than giving oneself to His cause.
The world was virtually taken by surprise when in 1985, Pope John Paul II visited the prison to meet Mehmet Ali Agca, who had tried to assassinate him two years earlier. He was not as close to his victim as Godse in Delhi was. He could only injure and not kill the Pope.
It was the first time in the history of the church that a Pope went to the prison, shook hands with his would-be assassin, pardoned him, and prayed for him.

The Vatican has given a go-ahead to start the beatification process for 35 people who were martyred for their faith during the 2008 anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal in eastern India.
A message from Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli to Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar says the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has granted “no objection” to initiate the process of beatification for the Servant of God Kanteeswar Digal and companions, “martyrs of Kandhamal.”
The letter shared with the media on October 15 was dated October 18.
It says the nuncio is pleased to forward to the archbishop an October 2 letter from the dicastery.
The dicastery was responding to Archbishop Barwa’s May 31 letter requesting the Vatican to consider beatification for the 35.
Archbishop Barwa’s proposal was approved and recommended to the Vatican by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India during its plenary assembly held January 24-30 at Bengaluru.
Rajendra Digal, son of the Servant of God, thanked the Vatican for the permission to start the process of sainthood of his father and others. “It is a proud moment for me that my father died for the faith in Christ. He is the true witness to the whole world of firm faith in God,” he told Matters India. The 35 martyrs are 24 men and 11 women. They are:

A Christian organization in a northern Indian state has filed a police complaint against a Hindu godman, accusing him of hurting religious sentiments by making baseless statements on religious conversion.  Jatinder Gaurav of the Global Christian Action Committee said they complained against Dhirendra Krishna Shastri to the police in Amritsar, the holy city for Sikh people in Punjab state, on Oct. 23.
Gaurav alleged Shastri targeted the Christian community and used a derogatory word for them. He demanded that the police register a case and take legal action against the godman.Bottom of Form
Shastri, the head priest of Bageshwar Dham, a pilgrimage site in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, is considered a rabble-rouser.
On a three-day visit to Punjab, he said Hindus were being lured to convert but the “evil forces” would not be allowed to do it.
Christian groups took offense to a particular word he used for them and sought an apology.
Shastri refused and said: “I have come to know that some people have a problem with my visit. They are objecting to why I used the word… I used it… If you have any problem, stop offending innocent Hindus. We will not offend you.”
The godman then appealed to the Punjab government to make an anti-conversion law in the state “because innocent people are being exploited.”
“Foreign powers should not be allowed to enter Hindu temples and Sikh gurudwaras. They should not be allowed to sway people away from any religion,” he added.
Gaurav said the godman is trying to disrupt the peace in Punjab by targeting the Christian community wherever he goes.
“The police assured us that appropriate legal action would be taken on our complaint. We will intensify our protest if no action is taken,” he added.
Father Mathew Kokkandam, the vicar general of Jalandhar diocese, said there is no truth in Shastri’s claims on religious conversions.

An elderly Catholic priest in India’s Kerala state was suspended from priestly duties for joining India’s ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party or Indian People’s Party), which is known for pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda.
The BJP is the party of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi. The priest’s action took place at a time of rising persecution of Christians in India. According to the United Christians Forum (UCF), in the first eight months of 2023, 525 incidents of violence against Christians have been reported in 23 states of India.
“There was no option but to act, as it has become a scandal to the faithful,” Bishop John Nellikunnel of the Diocese of Idukki told CNA about the Oct. 2 suspension of Father Kuriakose Mattam, vicar of St. Thomas Parish of Mankua.
“His action violated the canon law, which prohibits priests from joining political parties without permission,” Nellikunnel said.
Elaborating further, Nellikunnel noted: “It seems that Father Kuriakose, who is close to retirement [he will be 75 in six months], was misled into joining the BJP. As the news spread, the priest was also disturbed. So, he was moved out.”
Father Jins Karackattu, spokesperson for the diocese, told CNA that a couple of local Catholics who are actively associated with the BJP had “lured” the elderly priest into joining the BJP two weeks ago, promising him a quick repair of roads in the area.

Even as Imphal Valley was in turmoil over the disappearance of two students, Interfaith Forum for Peace and harmony, Manipur, were meeting with Kuki Church leaders searching for ways of peace.
While this meeting was the initiative of interfaith forum, it was prompted and supported by Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, who had visited Manipur four times since 3rd May violence, in an effort to begin a peace dialogue in some manner or the other. He was assisted by Father Tom Mangattutthazhe and Joshua Thiek.
In Manipur itself, Deben Bachaspatimayum had been working tirelessly to mobilize groups in favour of peace. The emergence of the Interfaith Forum for Peace and Harmony on June 5, of which Archbishop Menamparampil was chosen as the Convenor, was the fruit of his sustained effort.
Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal, who was one of the founders of the Interfaith Forum was personally present at the meeting in Guwahati, made several insightful suggestions at key moments of the discussion.
Archbishop Menamparampil set a tone for the discussions with his initial remarks about the need of mutual respect and openness in dialogue. He pointed out that the time was sensitive and this was the first meeting of some significance.

A court in a northern Indian state has remanded four Catholics, including a priest, to judicial custody under the stringent anti-conversion law.
The court in Prayagaraj district in northern Uttar Pradesh on Oct. 2 sent Father Babu Francis, director of social work of Allahabad diocese, and three other Catholics to jail, a day after their arrest.
“The priest was arrested when he visited the police station to inquire about the detention of other three Catholics,” Father Isidore D’Sousa, chancellor of the diocese, told on Oct. 3.
A pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vibhavnath Bharati in his complaint to the Naini police station in the district accused the priest and others of attempting to convert villagers.
The BJP under the leadership of monk-turned-politician Yogi Adityanath is ruling Uttar Pradesh since 2017 and enacted the draconian anti-conversion law in 2021.
The complainant charged the priests and others with attempts to defame Hindu gods and physical assault.
“The police complaint is based on totally fake charges,” noted D’Souza.
“When the BJP leader and his supporters created a ruckus and sought police help, the pastor ran away,” D’Souza said.

Media organizations have urged India’s chief justice to uphold freedom of speech following the arrest of a popular editor and raids on 46 journalists.
In a letter to Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, 18 media bodies noted, “The fact is that today, a large section of journalists in India finds itself working under the threat of reprisal.”
The organizations, including press clubs of various cities, told the chief justice that, “it is imperative that the judiciary confronts power with a fundamental truth — that there is a constitution to which we are all answerable.”
The letter, dated Oct. 4, sought the judiciary’s intervention to end the rampant use of investigating agencies against journalists.
“The country’s investigating agencies have been misused and weaponized against the press,” it said.
Their plea to Chandrachud comes in the immediate aftermath of the raids on 46 journalists, editors, writers, and professionals connected with the news portal, Newsclick.
The raids, conducted under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the sweeping anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), took place in more than 30 locations in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

The top court in a southern Indian state has ruled that education institutions of minorities, including Christians, do not have to implement reservation quotas, which are part of the country’s affirmative action program.
In its order,  the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu said that the government cannot compel educational institutions run by religious and linguistic minorities to provide the reservation quotas.
The quota system, commonly called “reservation” in India, is a means of compensation to address the historic oppression, inequality, and discrimination faced by some communities like the Dalits or former untouchables and tribal people among others, as promised by the constitution.
India recognizes Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians (Parsis) as religious minority groups. They can run educational institutions of their choice with financial aid from the government but without interference under Article 30 of the constitution.
“We have no hesitation to hold that the concept of communal reservation or reservation for Scheduled Castes [Dalits], Scheduled Tribes [tribal people] and Other Backward Classes of citizens would not apply to minority institutions,” Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu said in their Sept. 29 order.
The court upheld the right of minority institutions to admit students from religious and linguistic minorities up to 50 % of the sanctioned intake.
The judges ruled the government had no right to restrict the minority status of an institution to a particular period.
The status, once granted, would continue until the state-run National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions cancels it, they said.

Sept 6, 2023: Father Ebi Poruthoor is the latest Catholic priest in the southern Indian state of Kerala to donate one of his kidneys.
The 31-year-old priest of the diocese of Palghat on September 4 donated the kidney to Sister Bini Maria, his sister.The 27-year-old member of the Holy Family congregation required dialysis thrice a week for several years, reports Shekinah News.
The surgeries on the siblings were conducted at the Rajagiri Hospital, managed by the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate in Aluva, a major town in Ernakulam district, some 30 km northeast of Kochi.
Father Ebi, who was ordained a priest on December 27, 2017, and Sister Bini are the children of Anto and Ruby Poruthoor, parishioners of St Antony’s Forane Church in Melarkode.
Father Ebi is currently the vicar of St Antony’s Church Kozhinjampara in Palakkad district.

An Indian Catholic nun has won accolades with an award-winning short film and photographic documentation of tribal life in one of the last few surviving forests in the financial capital of the country.
For Sister Josefina Albuquerque, from the congregation of Religious of Jesus and Mary in Mumbai, it’s a dream come true after a 20-year stint teaching in top-ranked schools and being the principal of two high schools.
Her zero-budget movie titled, “D for Dumbo,” which was shot on a simple mobile phone, won the first prize awarded by the St Paul’s Communication Centre in Bandra, Mumbai, on Aug. 14. The seven-minute film about a fourth grader who has difficulty learning math but excels in storytelling has also been selected for screening at the online ALP International Film Festival, showcasing independent films on Sept. 23-24.
“I am very humbled by the award and recognition,” the 45-year-old Goan nun told UCA News.
Albuquerque, who is dressed in the traditional Kurta Churidar like most Indian women, says she always wanted “to reach out to and touch a wider, diverse audience with Gospel values rather than limiting herself to a classroom.”
She continues to serve as the principal of St. Agnes High School in Mumbai, which also serves as the headquarters of the popular Bollywood film industry.